The Empire State Building
Probably the best known skyscraper in the world, the Empire State Building has 102 floors; it is 381 metres tall from the base to the roof and 448.7 metres tall from the base to the top of the spire. It was built in only one year and 45 days, from March 17th 1930 to May 1st 1931. At the time of building it was the tallest skyscraper in the world, and remained such until 1972, when the Twin Towers were built.
High speed elevators will rocket you to the observatory deck, on the 86th floor, at the speed of 426 metres per minute. From the observatory the Empire State Building offers a mesmerizing view of New York.
The Brooklyn Bridge
Built between 1869 and 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge is one of the greatest engineering achievements of the 19th century as well as one of New York’s most popular landmarks. It connects the borough of Brooklyn to the borough of Manhattan. When the bridge was built, Brooklyn was still an independent city; it became a borough of New York only 15 years later, in 1898.
Chrysler Building
The Chrysler Building was the first building to top the then tallest structure in the world, the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a race for the tallest building in the world. The Chrysler building was racing with the Bank of Manhattan for the title of the tallest building in the world. At a certain point it seemed that the Bank of Manhattan would win; the Bank of Manhattan in fact was 282 metres while the Chrysler building was only 230 metres. But inside the Chrysler building they were constructing a spire, and after a week the Bank of Manhattan had completed the top, the Chrysler building hoisted the spire, reaching 318 metres. It didn’t keep the title of the tallest building of the world for long, as the following year the Empire State building was built.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a race for the tallest building in the world. The Chrysler building was racing with the Bank of Manhattan for the title of the tallest building in the world. At a certain point it seemed that the Bank of Manhattan would win; the Bank of Manhattan in fact was 282 metres while the Chrysler building was only 230 metres. But inside the Chrysler building they were constructing a spire, and after a week the Bank of Manhattan had completed the top, the Chrysler building hoisted the spire, reaching 318 metres. It didn’t keep the title of the tallest building of the world for long, as the following year the Empire State building was built.
Times Square
Times Square, named after the New York Times building, is the busiest square in the world. It was estimated that 1.600.000 people cross Times Square every day. It is famous for the Broadway theatres, cinemas and electronic billboards.
Metropolitan Museum
The Metropolitan Museum, or MET for short, is one of the largest museums in the world. It is 200.000 square metres, it has 22 departments and 250 rooms. The Metropolitan Museum has a collection of two million works of art.
Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue is the most popular shopping street in the world. It stretches from Washington Square to 143rd Street in Harlem, for a total of 11 kilometres. But it is not only a shopping street as along Fifth Avenue there are lots of museums too; especially in the area comprised between 82nd Street and 104th Street; there are so many that the area is usually referred to as the Museum Mile. The most important museums you will come across along Fifth Avenue are the Metropolitan Museum, the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of the City of New York.
Flatiron Building
The Flatiron Building, or the Fuller Building, as it was originally called, was built between 1901 and 1903, at an intersection between Fifth Avenue and Broadway. It has never been the tallest building in New York, but thanks to its unique shape, it is looked upon as one of the most prominent landmarks of the city.